Simmons: Notes from the Road

Chad Simmons

04/26/2013

Scout spent time with a number of top prospects on Thursday in the state of Georgia and we saw a freshman that already has three big-time offers, we got some interesting news on a top quarterback, and you can get all the notes from the road here...

Clemson got Deshaun Watson on their campus for their spring game a week ago and then stopped by his school earlier this week. It appears whatever happened during those visits solidified Watson's commitment to Clemson.

Not too long ago Watson visited Georgia, he has been talking regularly with Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, Ohio State has been on his list, and he was not ready to shut all doors in his recruitment.

The long-time Clemson commitment appears ready to do that now. "I am going to Clemson," Watson told Scout. He feels that is the right fit for him.

Scout learned on Thursday that Georgia is out, Tennessee is out, and on the outside it looks like all schools are out, but if anyone could still tempt this four-star signal caller out of Gainesville, Ga., it would be Auburn and Ohio State because of their offenses.

This 6-foot-3, 186 pound quarterback that threw for over 4,000 yards and ran for another 1,000 yards in 2012 is going to play in an offense that fits his skill-set.

Clemson has been his school for Watson since February 2012 and all signs point to him sticking with CU and signing with Dabo Swinney's program in February 2014.

Watson and people close to him made it clear to Scout that Clemson is the school. Watson has cut-off communication with most of the other schools, in-school visits have been cancelled, and the Tiger Nation should feel good about their chances to keep Watson at this time.

Standing Tall at Stephens County

South Carolina and Texas have sent coaches to Stephens County High School in Taccoa, Ga. early in the evaluation period. They did not go to check out the mountain air in north Georgia, they went to check on a freshman offensive tackle.

Ben Cleveland is a 6-foot-6, 320 pound 14 year old that looks like a college lineman. He is benching close to 400 pounds, he has been clocked at 5.0 seconds in the 40 yard dash, and he has already emerged as one of the top offensive linemen in the state of Georgia.

Both schools that stopped in at Stephens County over the last two weeks did not leave before offering Cleveland a scholarship and Florida has offered him over the phone.

"He is special," Stephens County head coach Travis Noland said. "It is easy to see. As soon as you take one look at him, it is hard to believe he is only 14 years old."

Cleveland is not the only Indian prospect. Gary Walker, Jr. is as well.

Walker, Jr. is a 6-foot-1, 260 pound defensive lineman in the 2015 class. He has very strong hands, he is disruptive at the line of scrimmage, and he has good genes.

His father played at Auburn before spending 10 years in the NFL. Walker is drawing early interest from Auburn and South Carolina.

Norcross is Still Norcross

Coming off a perfect 15-0 season Norcross is already focused on 2013. They will open up their season on a big stage against Booker T. Washington out of Miami, Fla. on August 25 live on ESPN.

They lost player of the year Alvin Kamara, an Alabama signee, but they have plenty of talent returning.

Here are some notes on their top prospects:

Five-star Lorenzo Carter tells Scout that he is about to start "focusing" on recruiting. He has been busy winning state titles in football and basketball this year while competing in track and playing AAU basketball tournaments. His most recent visit was to Alabama and many feel they are the school to beat. Georgia is also in the mix and Carter says he is currently "wide open". He has close to 40 scholarship offers and he jokingly told Scout he cut his list down to 20 schools. Keep a close eye on where he goes this summer, that could give you an idea of just who he has legit interest in.

While Carter will not tip his hand at this time, Kevin Mouhon was not shy about calling Tennessee his leader. He has a top five, but he was not going into detail about who is currently two, three, four, and five, but Tennessee appears to have a good grasp on that top spot.

One of the top athletes in the Peach State is Myles Autry and the Scout 300 playmaker is coming off knee surgery, so he will miss the spring. He will participate some in the Norcross 7v7 this summer, and he is ahead of schedule at this time when talking rehab. Ohio State is his "dream" school and he enjoyed his visit to Columbus earlier this month. He has family ties to Georgia Tech and they are in it too. He calls it "too early" to name leaders right now, so he claims to be open. He will hit the road some this summer.

Another 2014 prospect starting to get offers is safety Jordan Noil. He was offered by Maryland last week and he added an offer from Charlotte on Thursday. Auburn, Boston College, Duke, South Florida, and others are showing interest in the 6-foot-3, 176 pound junior.

There is many other prospects at Norcross in the 2014 class and Jarad Pinkney is a 6-foot-4, 215 pound sophomore wide receiver to keep an eye on as well.